Wai-o-Tapu Welcome Centre — Attraction in North Island

This is written at Covid level 2. As a local I found it a bit pricey for what you get. I get the wonderful staff need to be paid (really, such nice staff!), but honestly wouldn't be surprised if our taxes paid for the places upkeep so where that money goes I have no idea. Maybe its because its seasonal, or maybe its because people only come at certain times of day, idk. Just not sure why we're paying $35pp. The luge, with maintenance and much larger staff is $50, right? So why is it so expensive here to just look at something that's already naturally occurring? This place is beautiful, don't get me wrong. You could feel how special it was. But is it really okay to be taking such a large koha? I think we have become greedy with the ease of the weak dollar and overseas money and tourism. If you want more people to visit, drop it to maximum $20pp and then see the locals line up. Attraction 4/5, price 2/5. Might seem a bit harsh, I don't feel ripped off or anything, I just feel its a bit of...

Simply put this is a phenomenal place to visit that was absolutely worth the ticket price.

In longer words, there are many geothermal parks around and while I have not seen them all, this one was certainly worth a stop. Tickets are reasonable enough and doubly so considering the size of the park and diversity of what to see. My time was not particularly crowded allowing for plenty of empty photo spots and quiet walks with a few nice “oooh, look at that” moments shared with others.

The colorful waters are certainly the main highlight but by no means the only view. I wandered all the trails, perhaps 3-4km (or about 6,000 steps for a taller guy) and each spot had different views worth the time though the main trail is certainly the most impressive. Even if you’ve done things like Yellowstone or a Geyser, this is worth it.

Tips: Bring sunblock, a hat, water and a small daypack. It gets very...

Fantastic park! Worth going and doing the full walking track. Beautiful to see the scenery. The staff were fantastic and very helpful. The onsite cafe has great food and the amenities are clean and well kept. The shop onsite had great times as well. Ice cream too!!

The walks were amazing to see, for $45 per person it’s not bad, especially since it’s self guided. Take as long as you want and take as many photos as you want. There’s also many places to stop and sit along the walking tracks if you need a break and great places to enjoy the scenery and take photos.

Well worth the...